Own label investment pays off for symbol groups

Sales of own label products through convenience stores are continuing to go from strength to strength as the UK’s symbol groups invest in range development and promotions.

Spar brand sales were continuing to grow “ahead of the market,” its UK brand director Susan Darbyshire told Convenience Store. “Recent launches are doing exceptionally well, including new hot and cold dessert lines which have seen sales up over 20%, and the new Indian and Oriental food ranges which were launched in August and are already nearly 10% up,” she said.

“We have very ambitious plans for next year based on our category review programme to take advantage of opportunities in the market place,” she added.

Spar plans to roll out an extended range in time for Christmas including mince pies and a Perlezza prosecco magnum and will be launching a new Spar brand awards campaign in stores and online.

Nisa’s own brand Heritage sales are up by 52.6% since its relaunch earlier this year, with the brand on track to be worth £500m. Sales of its recently relaunched Heritage Gourmet sausages have doubled year on year. Nisa marketing director Ian Bishop said: “It’s fantastic to see the success of another newly-branded Heritage product, which not only looks fantastic but tastes delicious, too, and the figures show just how popular they really are.”

Cooked meats, ready meals and bread are the next Heritage categories to be relaunched in the coming months.

Musgrave is also reporting success for its Londis SmartBuy range, which was launched in July. Managing director Peter Ridler said: “The introduction of Londis SmartBuy has resonated with retailers and shoppers. We’ve already exceeded our 1,000 store year-end target with 1,153 actively participating stores, and as a result are expanding the range ahead of schedule.”